Kenyan law enforcement officers have detained a Russian who, according to investigators, was recruiting Kenyans to participate in hostilities against Ukraine.
This is reported by Eastleigh Voice with reference to the Criminal Investigation Department.
According to detectives, the detainee is Mikhail Lyapin, an employee of the Russian embassy in Nairobi, who first arrived in Kenya in March 2017.
Law enforcement officials said he likely played a key role in recruiting Kenyan men into the Russian army and planned to go into hiding when he learned he was wanted.
Lyapin was detained on September 25 and taken to the Mutayga police station in the suburbs of the capital, where he was to await charges. He was expected to be deported to Moscow on the afternoon of September 26.
Police also detained Edward Kamau Gituku, who is believed to be the coordinator of sending Kenyans to war. Detectives are currently questioning 21 Kenyans who were not allowed to go to Russia.
What preceded it?
In September, fighters of the 57th separate motorized infantry brigade named after Kostya Gordienko showed a video with Kenyan Evans Kibet , who was captured in the Volchansky direction.
He said that he went to the Russian Federation as a tourist, and after two weeks there, the man who hosted him offered him a “job” and gave him documents to sign. It later turned out that these documents were a contract for military service. After that, he was sent to a military training camp, where he was taught almost nothing.
According to Kibet, he fled to the Ukrainian military after one of the Russian commanders’ orders to attack. Ukrainian authorities have expressed their willingness to negotiate the return of the Kenyan citizen to his homeland.
After that, Kenyan law enforcement officials said they had uncovered a criminal syndicate that was supplying Kenyan men to the Russians for their war against Ukraine.
According to law enforcement, the Kenyans were lured to Moscow with promises of lucrative jobs with a monthly salary of 200,000 Kenyan shillings ($1,547). However, when they arrived in Russia, they were forced to sign contracts with the Russian army and then sent to fight against Ukraine.
Moreover, the men paid from 1.65 to 2.31 million Kenyan shillings (from 12,355 to 17,837 dollars) for visas, travel and accommodation.
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